


T is for Tentative

by Leni



Series: The Love Of A Good Woman [6]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, The Dark Castle (Once Upon a Time)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2019-02-05 05:19:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12787854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leni/pseuds/Leni
Summary: 3/26





	T is for Tentative

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for @sygmarie4-w for the prompt!

Belle knew something had changed since her illness. Rumpelstiltskin had been the picture of solicitude during her convalescence, more nurse than master; but since she'd regained her strength, he had retreated into a distance Belle hadn't even realized had shortened since her arrival in the Dark Castle.

In the last two weeks, Belle had to get used again to lonely meals in the kitchen. There was no hollering of her name, no summons to come up to the main hall, and the plate she'd served for herself didn't vanish into a column of colored smoke to secure her presence at the great dining table - where she'd arrive to find her meal enhanced with thick slices of cold cuts and a platter of exotic fruit that Rumpelstiltskin claimed he'd brought from market on a whim.

She even missed the eagle-eyed stare that counted her every bite until she'd picked a nourishing portion of each item.

The worst, Belle reflected as she stared at her cooling bowl of soup, was the silence.

After having spent more than a year with the books Rumpelstiltskin left behind as her most exciting company, it had been heady to have Rumpelstiltskin break their monotony with amusing recounts of his travels.

Oh, he had started with dreadful tales - the affair with Cora being the first - but as Belle had stayed more curious than repulsed no matter how much of a villain he painted himself to be, the focus of Rumpelstiltskin's stories shifted to descriptions of the people and places he visited, often including witty asides that made Belle snigger despite her best intentions not to mock complete strangers.

Laughter had returned to her life, and Belle refused to believe it had been only a fleeting perk during her recovery.

The solitude of her position as the Dark One's maid felt all the more bitter after discovering that Rumpelstiltskin was an amusing companion, someone who lit up at her thoughtful remarks and quick rejoinders instead of berating her for the interruption. She had realized that he was a learned man from the start, and in the course of those first months under his roof, he had shown enough glimpses of patience and kindness that Belle often had to remind herself to fear him.

If she was honest with herself, she'd fallen off that habit months ago, even before her illness.

It was difficult to fear a man who, over the course of a year, one tome at a time, had given her access to the equivalent of a library like the one she'd enjoyed at home, and on more varied subjects too. It was especially endearing since sharing the books had become something of a game, with Rumpelstiltskin pretending to forget new books where Belle was sure to find them, and Belle pretending in turn not to carry one in her pocket, ready to be pulled out between chores.

Living with the Dark One was not the lifelong sentence she had dreaded during those first weeks. Her dungeon cell had become a comfortable, warm room; her needs were met without complaint; and outside from her duties as the housekeeper, her time was her own.

In many ways, she had realized a couple seasons into her stay, she had more freedom than most wives she'd met.

She still saw little beyond the walls of a castle, and her schedule did revolve around the wants of a man; but that man had simple requests and was mostly gone on business anyway. Little had she imagined that she would be even more content when Rumpelstiltskin took an interest in actual conversation! It had been such a brief respite from the monotony, and she missed it dearly.

Belle tapped her spoon against the rim of her plate, needing something to fill the silence. The noise also served to distract her from the idea that had been circling at the back of her head for days: why couldn't she seek him out?

It pointed out over and over that Rumpelstiltskin had enjoyed their chats as well. Her imagination, fertile as it was, couldn't have conjured the slow smiles that gentled his features despite the black teeth they revealed. He had been as invested in their arguments as she had been, and conceding an argument to her had not stopped him from starting a new one. Whatever his reason to draw away, boredom could not be part of it.

Did she dare ask him?

Did she dare not?

Belle envisioned the days that would follow, the weeks and months and endless years. The loneliness of it. Even if Rumpelstiltskin was angered by her initiative, no punishment could be worse than the isolation to which she'd already been returned. Her master wasn't cruel, and as long as no one was trying to back down from a deal, he could be reasoned with.

Surely he would understand that, if she was going to live with one person for the rest of her life, she wanted to get to know him?

Yes, he would.

(He must.)

Before she could change her mind, Belle poured hot water into her favorite teapot and arranged a tray to take to the laboratory. Her hands, familiar with the task even after the weeks without being called to do it, allowed her to hurry through the motions while her mind tried not to panic.

It wasn't an intrusion, she repeated to herself. Coming up uninvited wasn't meant as a challenge to Rumpelstiltskin's authority.

He had never, after all, expressly forbidden it.

Belle debated the wisdom of her plan all the way up the seven flights of stairs. Even when she was before the wooden door, she paused and took a deep breath.

Her first knock was a timid, tentative sound to her own ears, and the second gained only a little in strength. Her hand was poised for a third try, when a gruff voice answered from inside:

"Come in, then, if you're so sure you want to!"

 

 

The End  
21/12/17

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are love. Please leave me a comment!


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